Nourishing White Bean & Cabbage Soup

With umami flavors, buttery beans, a rich broth, a hint of ginger, and the freshness of lemon, thyme, and pepper, this nourishing white bean & cabbage soup is the ultimate comfort food that’s super easy to make!

Nourishing Comfort: A Delicious White Bean & Cabbage Soup

There’s nothing quite like a big, flavorful and wholesome bowl of soup on a cold day. If you’re looking for a soup recipe that is filling, healthy, and tastes amazing, this is it! It’s packed with fiber, plant protein, Vitamin C, and iron.

I absolutely love making soup (if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my recent carrot soup and potato soup recipes) and I also love bean dishes, especially ones made with butter beans (my favorite!), such as my go-to creamy butter bean dish (that’s ready in just 10 minutes!)

For this white bean and cabbage soup, I wanted to create a 1-pot recipe that is made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients. Additionally, cabbage, protein, and fiber have been all the rage recently, and this soup happens to include all three!

This soup makes for a great weeknight dinner option and it can also be meal prepped and stored for later. I made it for lunch on a Friday, for instance, and then enjoyed the leftovers all weekend long. Ready to start making this white bean and cabbage soup recipe? Find all ingredient notes, step by step instructions, and the recipe card below!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

The following is an overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this white bean and cabbage soup recipe, as well as recommended substitutions. For the exact measurements, be sure to refer to the recipe card below.

• Napa Cabbage: also known as “Chinese cabbage”, Napa cabbage is amazing is stir-fry’s and soup. You can use any other kind of cabbage or more leeks as well!
• Sweet Potatoes: sweet potatoes are amazing in so many ways (see some of the benefits here) and add healthy carbs that will help you feel satiated, as well as a subtle sweetness and tender texture to this soup.
• Leek & Celery: the more greens, the better! If you prefer, you can also pick one of the two and double the amount. If you have any leftovers, celery is great in fresh cold-pressed juice recipes) and leek can either be blanched and frozen for later use or added to stir-fry’s and other soup recipes (like this potato leek soup.)
• Onions & Garlic: if you don’t have any at hand, feel free to use onion powder and garlic powder.
• Grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes: the tomatoes add just the right amount of acidity and umami flavor to this soup. If you prefer using larger tomatoes, you can use Roma or heirloom tomatoes. Just make sure you chop them before adding them to the pot.
• Fresh Thyme: thyme is the perfect addition to the lemon in the soup. If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can use dried thyme. Fresh parsley would work as well!
• Lemon: the lemon adds a little brightness and freshness to the soup.
• Ginger: the ginger won’t overpower the recipe as it only includes a little, but definitely feel free to double or even triple the amount for a more intense ginger flavor. You can also use ginger powder (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per thumb of ginger, or more to taste.)
• Kale: I love adding some extra greens at the end. Kale works great here, but collard greens, chard or bok choy are wonderful options too!
• Butter Beans: I used butter beans because they’re my favorite, but any type of white bean (like navy or cannellini) works. If you prefer, you can also use chickpeas, or kidney beans. NOTE: Be sure to use canned or pre-cooked beans. If using dry beans, you’ll need to soak and cook them ahead of time.
• Salt & Pepper: the seasonings are kept intentionally simple to let the vegetables’ flavors shine. If you prefer a spicier kind of soup, check out my spicy carrot soup.
• Vegetable Broth: If you’re using low sodium broth, just be sure to adjust the saltiness of the soup to taste. Instead of vegetable broth, you can also use miso broth (or white miso paste mixed with water.)
• Brown Sugar: the sugar balances out the acidity of the lemon and tomatoes. Instead, a splash of apple juice works as well.
• To serve: I love serving this white bean and cabbage soup with a slice of freshly toasted sourdough bread, a little extra squeeze of lemon juice, as well as some cracked black pepper.

🌿Ingredient Tip: Feel free to improvise when it comes to the ingredients! Replace any vegetables you don’t like or can’t find and/or add any others you like (such as bell peppers, collard greens, bok choy, kohlrabi, or other kinds of potatoes!)

How to Make This Recipe (Step by Step)

The following is a step-by-step overview of how to make this white bean and cabbage soup recipe. For a recap, be sure to check out the recipe card below.

Start by adding the olive, thyme (remove the stems first), grape tomatoes, ginger, salt, and pepper to a large stock pot.

Mince the garlic, chop the onions, celery, and leek (remove the end with the roots first) and add them to the pot as well, then sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes, then add them to the pot alongside the vegetable broth. Over high heat (or medium-high if your stove top gets extremely hot), being the soup to a boil while you prepare the cabbage.

Remove the end of the Napa cabbage and thoroughly wash the leaves, then chop it and add it to the pot. Mix everything, add a lid and cook the soup for 10 minutes over medium to medium-high heat.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the kale, beans, and lemon juice. Add them to the pot, mix them in, lower the heat to medium and simmer for an extra 5 minutes.

Serving Suggestion

Serve the white bean and cabbage soup right away with some extra lemon (cut a lemon into wedges and serve each bowl with a wedge), some freshly cracked pepper, and sliced and toasted sourdough bread.

Recipe Tips

Make it a full, balanced meal: this soup is relatively low-calorie, so in order to make it a full, balanced meal, either follow the serving suggestion of adding a slice of toasted sourdough bread to each bowl of soup, increase the serving size, or add additional ingredients such as yellow potatoes (which you would add at the same time as the sweet potatoes), more beans, or cooked rice or quinoa.

Adjust to your liking: If you want your cabbage soup to be more brothy, simply add more vegetable broth and adjust the saltiness to taste. If you want more protein, add a second type of bean or lentils. You can also use miso broth instead of vegetable broth and/or add any extra veggies you desire.

Freezing this white bean and cabbage soup: this soup is best stored in the fridge, but if you prefer to freeze it, I’d recommend following the steps until just before adding the kale, beans, and lemon juice, letting the soup cool, then transferring it to airtight containers in the freezer (freezer cubes like these are ideal for freezing soups.) You can then add the kale, beans, and lemon when you reheat the soup. This will make it taste fresher!

White Bean & Cabbage Soup – Recipe Card

Use this card to save and/or print this white bean and cabbage soup recipe. For additional step by step photo instructions, ingredient notes, and recipe tips, be sure to read the full blog post above.